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Cases

In response to the 1994 Popular Participation Law mandating the decentralization of government processes, USAID implemented the Democratic Development and Citizens Participation project to strengthen local, community-based governance.

Designed by Benjamin Olken of MIT, the Indonesia Direct Democracy Experiment experiment aimed to discover and explore the concept that direct participation in decision-making can lead to increased satisfaction and legitimacy in a community.

Some 66,158 people signed a petition calling for a referendum on a controversial viaduct in Antwerp, Belgium. The administration approved the referendum, and the unpopular project was put to a popular vote, the first in the city’s history, on 18 October 2009.